Heart Disease

What is Heart Disease?

Heart disease covers many problems that affect your heart. These include blood vessel diseases like coronary artery disease, heart rhythm problems, and congenital heart defects as well as other conditions.

Heart disease is also referred to as cardiovascular disease which involve narrowed or blocked blood vessels that can lead to a heart attack, chest pain or stroke.

Other heart conditions that affect your heart’s muscle, valves or rhythm, also are considered forms of heart disease.

Who is affected by Heart Disease

17% of Australians suffer from heart disease or some form of cardiovascular disease, . Heart disease remains a major health burden for Australia and causes tens of thousands of premature deaths every year.

How does Heart Disease Affect You?

Heart disease can be a key driver of conditions affecting the heart or the circulation of blood through the blood vessels, such conditions can include:

coronary heart disease

heart attack

heart failure

stroke

arrhythmias – abnormal heart beats

aneurysm – a bulge caused by weakening of the heart muscle or artery

septal defect – an abnormal opening between the left and right sides of the heart

peripheral vascular disease – a disease of the large blood vessels of the arms, legs, and feet